NEW DELHI:  Taking a cue from neighbouring states Haryana and Rajasthan, the Delhi Cabinet on Wednesday approved a scheme to reward informers who alert officials about illegal sex determination tests.Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal chaired the Cabinet meeting which approved the Informer Reward scheme proposed by the Health Department. Informers can get as much as `1.50 lakh.

The scheme will be under Pre Conception & Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act (PC & PNDT) (for informer and decoy patient for informing about unregistered centre/machine and for sting/decoy operation), a government statement said. The Act bans hospitals, nursing homes and clinics from using ultrasonography or any such technique to determine the gender of an unborn child.

Under the scheme, a reward of `50,000 will be given to a person for informing about the unregistered or registered centre/machine and any other violation of PC & PNDT Act after successful completion of the decoy operation. An incentive/reward amount of `1.50 lakh was announced for decoys on the successful completion of an operation. The reward will be given in two installments — the first installment of 
`50,000 will be given after a successful operation and the second installment of `1 lakh after deposing submission of statement in the court.

The scheme aims to improve the child sex ratio by ensuring punitive action against those involved in activities directly or indirectly related to sex selective abortions/conceptions under the purview of PC & PNDT Act.  “It (the Cabinet) approved to create awareness and to rope in the members of the civil society for this cause and to effectively stop the misuse of the Act,” a Delhi government release said. 

Social malaise: Desire for MALE CHILD
Gender bias and deep-rooted prejudice and discrimination against the girl child and preference for the male child have led to the misuse of technology for gender based sex selection. This has resulted in demographic imbalance over the last two decades. The declining child sex ratio in India is a major concern for all. The successive census data indicate that the sex ratio has been declining at an alarming rate.